Shelf life evaluation of fresh-cut red chicory subjected to different minimal processes

Microbiological, chemical and physical parameters of minimally processed red chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) subjected to two different transformation processes were investigated. A classic ready-to-eat (RTE) process (P1) and a production without cutting (P2) were monitored during refrigerated (4 °C) storage (15 d). Total mesophilic microorganisms, total psychrotrophic microorganisms and pseudomonads were detected at the highest cell densities in all samples. Presumptive Pseudomonas population dominated the cultivable microbial community of RTE red chicory and were characterized genetically. Twenty-two randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) types were investigated by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, resulting in members of Rahnella and Pseudomonas. The identification of Pseudomonas species was further determined by sequencing of gyrB, rpoB and rpoD genes resulting in 16 species. A highest visual quality and a lower weight loss and colour variation were registered for P2, while soluble solid, nitrate and ascorbic acid contents were not affected by processing and storage. The integrated microbiological, chemical and physical approach applied in this study demonstrated the longer shelf-life of P2 red chicory

L'Ingegneria della Grande Guerra 1915-1918. Incontro di studio e mostra bibliografica sugli aspetti tecnologici del primo conflitto mondiale

Il volume raccoglie gli atti e i materiali di un seminario di studi e di una mostra bibliografica tenutisi in occasione del primo centenario della Grande guerra presso la Scuola di Ingegneria e Architettura dell’Università di Bologna. Gli interventi indagano l’applicazione e lo sviluppo, in ambito bellico, di tecnologie ingegneristiche che da un lato espressero un tragico potenziale distruttivo, dall’altro ebbero nel conflitto un’occasione di sviluppo. Vi si tratta dell’importanza strategica del petrolio come carburante per navi, carrarmati e aerei e come fonte di energia per le fabbriche, dello sviluppo delle tecniche di mappatura del territorio, la fotogrammetria aerea, delle nuove drammatiche modalità di combattimento e costruzione di ordigni bellici, senza trascurare il più generale contesto dello sviluppo industriale italiano legato alla produzione di armamenti. In appendice si pubblica il catalogo dell’esposizione, tenutasi nell’atrio della Scuola di Ingegneria e Architettura, progettata negli anni ’30 dall’architetto Giuseppe Vaccaro. Questa parte del volume indaga l’interesse tecnico-scientifico dei professori e degli studenti della Scuola d’applicazione per gli ingegneri di Bologna verso il conflitto mondiale; vi sono descritti alcuni documenti bibliografici conservati nelle raccolte storiche della Biblioteca Interdipartimentale di Ingegneria e Architettura. Inoltre lo spoglio della documentazione amministrativa conservata presso l’Archivio Storico dell’Università di Bologna ha fatto riemergere il coinvolgimento umano e l’interesse più generale della comunità, che alla Scuola faceva riferimento: l’entusiasmo degli studenti desiderosi di partecipare al conflitto, lo strazio dei molti lutti e la celebrazione della memoria dei caduti

Predictors of CD34+ cell mobilization and collection in adult men with germ cell tumors: implications for the salvage treatment strategy

BACKGROUND: High-dose chemotherapy with tandem or triple carboplatin and etoposide course is currently the first curative choice for relapsing GCT. The collection of an adequate amount of hematopoietic (CD34(+)) stem cells is a priority. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed data of patients who underwent HDCT at 2 referral institutions. Chemotherapy followed by myeloid growth factors was applied in all cases. Uni- and multivariable models were used to evaluate the association between 2 prespecified variables and mobilization parameters. Analyses included only the first mobilizing course of chemotherapy and mobilization failures. RESULTS: A total of 116 consecutive patients underwent a mobilization attempt from December 1995 to November 2012. Mobilizing regimens included cyclophosphamide (CTX) 7 gr/m(2) (n = 39), cisplatin, etoposide, and ifosfamide (PEI) (n = 42), paclitaxel, cisplatin, and gemcitabine (TPG) (n = 11), and mixed regimens (n = 24). Thirty-seven percent were treated in first-line, 50% (n = 58) in second-line, 9.5% (n = 11) and 3.4% (n = 4) in third- and fourth-line settings, respectively. Six patients did not undergo HDCT because they were poor mobilizers, 2 in first- and second-line (1.9%), and 4 beyond the second-line (26.7%). In the multivariable model, third-line or later setting was associated with a lower CD34(+) cell peak/μL (P = .028) and a lower total CD34(+)/kg collected (P = .008). The latter was also influenced by the type of mobilizing regimen (P < .001). CONCLUSION: A decline in significant mobilization parameters was found, primarily depending on the pretreatment load. Results lend support to the role of CD34(+) cell mobilization in the therapeutic algorithm of relapsing GCT, for whom multiple HDCT courses are still an option, and potentially a cure

Open Science @ UNIBO: il servizio di supporto a rete per le comunità di ricerca

Le forti spinte globali a favore dell’Open Access (OA) e dell’Open Science (OS) hanno sollecitato i sistemi bibliotecari delle università a rivedere servizi e competenze in funzione dei nuovi bisogni delle loro comunità di riferimento. Il Sistema Bibliotecario dell’Università di Bologna ha risposto a questi stimoli definendo un modello a rete a supporto dell’Open Access avviato sperimentalmente nella seconda metà del 2018. L’obiettivo strategico condiviso e co-gestito dall’intera comunità accademica è la promozione di prassi che consentano il libero accesso e il riuso delle pubblicazioni e dei dati della ricerca scientifica. Il servizio si struttura come una rete decentrata di punti di supporto collocati nelle biblioteche con il coordinamento centrale a cura della Biblioteca Digitale di Ateneo, AlmaDL. AlmaDL si occupa della formazione dei bibliotecari del servizio di supporto, fornisce loro assistenza specialistica anche in materia di diritto d’autore, coordina, monitora e sostiene il servizio con personale dedicato, oltre a offrire assistenza per la gestione FAIR dei dati di ricerca nel data repository di Ateneo e a garantire il raccordo istituzionale partecipando al Gruppo di lavoro Open Science di Ateneo. I punti di servizio offrono alle loro comunità scientifiche consulenza e orientamento, validano le pubblicazioni scientifiche depositate nel repository istituzionale, organizzano campagne di sensibilizzazione e rispondono alle esigenze specifiche delle comunità scientifiche. Ad oggi i bibliotecari coinvolti nel servizio sono 61; quasi 24.000 le pubblicazioni in OA e oltre 200 i dataset depositati nei repository istituzionali; 4830 le consulenze e 178 ore di formazione a cui hanno partecipato 1307 utenti. Il modello adottato ha presentato numerosi vantaggi rivelandosi sostenibile e attento alle specificità dei diversi ambiti disciplinari. Inoltre il continuo scambio di informazioni tra i nodi della rete permette lo sviluppo delle competenze e delle conoscenze in una continua ridefinizione del modello organizzativo e dei contenuti del servizio

The seroprevalence of the hepatitis B virus in Italian medical students after 3 decades since the introduction of universal vaccination

ObjectivesSince 1991 hepatitis B vaccination has been mandatory for all newborns in Italy. The aim of the study was to verify the long-term seroprevalence and the efficacy of hepatitis B vaccination in medical students of the University of Siena.Material and MethodsA cross-sectional observational study was conducted on a population of 850 medical students of the University of Siena (322 males and 528 females, mean age: 23 years) by obtaining from the medical reports the serological analysis data for the total anti-hepatitis B antibodies (HBsAb) and information on hepatitis B vaccination (number of vaccine doses, age at the first vaccination, time since the final vaccination dose, country of origin). Raw odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were initially calculated to evaluate the association between 2 variables. The adjusted ORs were then calculated using a multivariate logistic regression model to study the association between the variables and the possible confounding factors.ResultsOverall, 593 students (69.76%) were immunized against hepatitis B, while 257 (30.24%) had HBsAb antibody titer <10 mIU/ml. From the OR calculation, an inverse correlation emerged between seropositivity to hepatitis B and age, and between seropositivity to hepatitis B and the age at the first vaccination dose. There was also a correlation between seropositivity and the number of vaccination doses received. By performing the multivariate logistic analysis, correlations with these variables were confirmed.ConclusionsA significant part of the studied population was not immunized against hepatitis B virus, despite the fact that vaccination had been carried out as prescribed by law. The results of the study reaffirm the importance of health surveillance in subjects at biological risk such as medical students

Human Amnion-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells Pre-Conditioning Inhibits Inflammation and Apoptosis of Immune and Parenchymal Cells in an In Vitro Model of Liver Ischemia/Reperfusion

Ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) represents one of the leading causes of primary non-function acute liver transplantation failure. IRI, generated by an interruption of organ blood flow and the subsequent restoration upon transplant, i.e., reperfusion, generates the activation of an inflammatory cascade from the resident Kupffer cells, leading first to neutrophils recruitment and second to apoptosis of the parenchyma. Recently, human mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (hMSCs) and derivatives have been implemented for reducing the damage induced by IRI. Interestingly, sparse data in the literature have described the use of human amnion-derived MSCs (hAMSCs) and, more importantly, no evidence regarding hMSCs priming on liver IRI have been described yet. Thus, our study focused on the definition of an in vitro model of liver IRI to test the effect of primed hAMSCs to reduce IRI damage on immune and hepatic cells. We found that the IFNγ pre-treatment and 3D culture of hAMSCs strongly reduced inflammation induced by M1-differentiated macrophages. Furthermore, primed hAMSCs significantly inhibited parenchymal apoptosis at early timepoints of reperfusion by blocking the activation of caspase 3/7. All together, these data demonstrate that hAMSCs priming significantly overcomes IRI effects in vitro by engaging the possibility of defining the molecular pathways involved in this process

Situazione economica della provincia di Palermo 2003-2004

Programma POLOSConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7 , Rome / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal

Long-Term Effectiveness of BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA-Based Vaccine on B Cell Compartment: Efficient Recall of SARS-CoV-2-Specific Memory B Cells

At present, there is a lack of clinical evidence about the impact and long-term durability of the immune response induced by the third dose of mRNA vaccines. In this study, we followed up the B cell compartment behavior in a cohort of immunocompetent individuals three and six months after the third dose of vaccine. During this period, some subjects contracted the virus. In uninfected vaccinated subjects, we did not report any changes in serum spike-specific IgG levels, with a significant reduction in IgA. Instead, subjects recovered from natural infection showed a significant increase in both specific IgG and IgA. Moreover, we showed a time-related decrease in IgG neutralizing potential to all SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) in uninfected compared to recovered subjects, who displayed an increased neutralizing ability, particularly against the omicron variant. Finally, we underlined the presence of a pool of SARS-CoV-2-specific B cells in both groups that are prone to respond to restimulation, as demonstrated by their ability to differentiate into plasma cells and to produce anti-SARS-CoV-2-specific immunoglobulins. These data lead us to assert the long-term effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine in contrasting the severe form of the pathology and prevent COVID-19-associated hospitalization

Specific Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses After Booster Dose of BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA-Based Vaccine: Integrated Study of Adaptive Immune System Components

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is modifying human activity all over the world with significant health and economic burden. The advent of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic prompted the scientific community to learn the virus dynamics concerning transmissibility, epidemiology, and usefulness of vaccines in fighting emerging health hazards. Pieces of evidence suggest that the first and second doses of mRNA vaccines induce a significant antibody response in vaccinated subjects or patients who recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection, demonstrating the importance of the previously formed memory. The aim of this work has been to investigate the effects of BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA-based vaccine booster dose in a cohort of 11 uninfected immunocompetent (ICs), evaluating the humoral and cellular responses, with more carefulness on memory B and T cells. Our findings underscore the potential benefit of the third dose of mRNA vaccine on the lifespan of memory B and T cells, suggesting that booster doses could increase protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection